February/March 2024, Issue No. 207 — Table of Contents
On the cover: At custom builder Brooklin Boat Yard, the molds and bulkheads for projects of all sizes are CNC-cut offsite by Hewes & Co. and trucked to the build shop, where they are erected on a strongback. Planking commences quickly to efficiently utilize the limited shop space and the yard’s specialized workforce. Story on page 26.
Photograph courtesy Hewes & Company.
FEATURES
DIETER LOIBNER
A complex Betts-built yacht. Page 18.
18 Carbon Refines a Tradition
by Dieter Loibner
Beginning as a racy 57-footer on a design board in Maine, a much bigger Spirit of Tradition yacht will leave a West Coast building shed.
COURTESY CLC
CNC’s role in the boatshop. Page 26.
26 Precisely!
by Nic Compton
How computer-aided design and software-controlled manufacturing technologies have reshaped custom and semi-production boatbuilding.
REUEL PARKER
Optimizing a sharpie for GRP. Page 38.
38 Project Skimmer
by Reuel B. Parker
Designing and refining a shoal-draft, modified-sharpie sloop for production in fiberglass.
COURTESY VOLTARI
Electric propulsion. Page 48.
48 The Big Turn-On
by Marilyn DeMartini
A growing market for electric propulsion drives the development of new companies and technologies.
Guy Gurney
Australia II’s infamous wing keel. Page 56.
56 How Australia II Got Its Wings
Part 1: Prelude to a Controversy
by Peter van Oossanen
A tank-testing lab in The Netherlands convinced Australian challengers to rely on performance-prediction data and analysis that helped create the 12-Meter that made America’s Cup history.
DEPARTMENTS
4 Letters, Etc.
Readers comment on Ernestina-Morrissey’s redesigned electrical system, and whether to shake dry-chemical fire extinguishers.
8 Rovings
compiled by Dieter Loibner
Princeton University’s Electric Speedboat Team partners with outboard builder Flux Marine to set a world speed record; Hull Vane installed on Dutch navy patrol boat; Ferretti’s trade schools; NWSWB contracts with BoatHowTo.com; ABYC’s Educator of the Year nominations.
72 Parting Shot
by Joe Grez
A producer of niche electric outboards explains the innovation cycle for new products and how to most effectively roll them out to the target market.
READER SERVICES
66 New Products and Processes
67 Connections
68 Classified Advertising